Seated Liberty Dollar

Seated Liberty Dollar

Seated Liberty designs serve denomination for 33 years By Michele Orzano COIN WORLD Staff Thirty-three years isn't a very long life by most people's reckoning. But if the Seated Liberty silver dollar design had a tombstone that's the story the dates 1840 ...READ MORE

Seated Liberty Dollar

Seated Liberty Dollar

Seated Liberty designs serve denomination for 33 years
By Michele Orzano
COIN WORLD Staff Thirty-three years isn't a very long life by most people's reckoning. But if the Seated Liberty silver dollar design had a tombstone that's the story the dates 1840 to 1873 would tell. It was just three years after the Seated Liberty design was used on the half dime that the Seated Liberty silver dollar was introduced. By the time a new design for the silver dollar was presented (William Barber's Trade dollar, which was a variation of the Seated Liberty design), the concept of a Seated Liberty with Liberty cap, pole and shield seemed to have run its course. Only one other denomination would be struck with the design after production of the silver dollar ceased in 1873 – the short-lived 20-cent coin. Both the silver dollar and the half dime denominations bearing the Christian Gobrecht-Robert Hughes-Thomas Sully concept were discontinued in 1873. It would be almost another 20 years before the design disappeared from the U.S. Mint engravers' repertoire altogether. There are some similarities to the Trade dollar design adopted in 1873: a seated allegorical figure representing Liberty and an eagle on the reverse. But the similarity ends there. The Seated Liberty silver dollar retains drapery behind Liberty's left elbow. The design doesn't require the arrows and rays used on previous incarnations of the design on lower denominations because the silver content remained steady throughout its run. The only noticeable difference during the 33 years this type of silver dollar was struck occurred in 1866 when Treasury officials decreed all gold $20 double eagles, gold $10 eagles, gold $5 half eagles, and silver dollars, half dollars and quarter dollars were to incorporate the motto "In God We Trust" on the reverse. On the Seated Liberty design, the motto appears on a ribbon below the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA legend and above the eagle's head. The denomination, located beneath the eagle's feet, is expressed as ONE DOL. The eagle still bears a shield on its breast and arrows and an olive branch in its talons. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appears along the top half of the reverse. Seated Liberty dollars are collected by date and Mint mark and by major varieties. The key and semi-key dates are so numerous (21 and eight respectively) that most collectors shy away from trying to complete such a set. A complete collection of Seated Liberty dollars, dated 1840 through 1873 comprises 46 coins.

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LIBERTY CAP RIGHT HALF CENT

THE SMALLEST DENOMINATION

Although it may seem unusual today, the United States government once issued a coin worth less than one cent: the half cent. The copper U.S. half cent was authorized for production on April 2, 1792. During its 64-year lifespan as a circulating denomination, five different basic design types of the tiny (0.93-inch) coin were struck. The coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and do not have a Mint mark. The half cent's designers and engravers are among the best known names in U.S. Mint design/engraving history: Adam Eckfeldt, Robert Scot, John Gardner, Gilbert Stuart, John Reich and Christian Gobrecht. Designs for the half cent were also used on other denominations through the years. The 1793 Liberty Cap half cent features a lettered edge stating TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR. The obverse depicts a bust of Liberty with flowing hair, facing left. A Liberty Cap on a pole rests on her right shoulder giving the design its name, the Liberty Cap. The design for the Liberty Cap half cent was based on Agustin Dupre's Libertas Americana medal. Half cents struck between 1794 and 1797 bear another Liberty Cap design, this one facing right, and issued in Plain Edge, Lettered Edge and Gripped Edge varieties. From 1800 to 1808 the Draped Bust design was used on half cents. All half cents bearing those dates are Plain Edge varieties. The Classic Head design was used on half cents struck between 1809-1836. From 1849 to 1857, a Coronet design with Plain Edge was used. All half cents have a wreath on the reverse. The key dates in the series are 1793; 1796, No Pole; 1802/0, Reverse of 1800; and 1831.